Mystical Experiences Open a 'Door of Perception' in the Brain

by Charles Q. Choi

For Jordan Grafman, it was just a split-second vision.

"About 15 years ago, my mom died," Grafman told Live Science. "I was walking down the street to catch the bus at about 5 a.m., and I looked down the street and saw who I thought was my mom, although my mom had been dead for a week. I looked back, and whatever was there was gone."

That momentary flicker in perception intrigued Grafman, who is a cognitive neuroscientist and the director of brain injury research at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.